'Nypd': True-blue To Its Beat

TELEVISION

October 15, 1996|By Hal Boedeker, Sentinel Television Critic

Crime usually comes in two highly different forms on television. Local newscasts treat it as a recital of violence, reeling off one terrible story after another. Dramatic series approach it with depth, trying to explain random acts of mayhem.

The former style makes many newscasts a torture to sit through. The latter genre has yielded an astonishing group of dramatic series, from Law & Order to Homicide: Life on the Street to Murder One.

One of the best, NYPD Blue, returns to the ABC schedule at 10 tonight for its fourth season (locally on WFTV-Channel 9). The episode, ''Moby Greg,'' cannot compare with the series' strongest installments last season, when Andy Sipowicz (Emmy winner Dennis Franz) fell off the wagon after his son's death.

Even so, the episode serves as a fond reintroduction to the characters. By watching it, you'll understand why NYPD Blue continues to soar when so many other series, especially new ones, have crashed this season.

Most crucially, NYPD Blue provides ample reason to care about the characters. Viewers have invested a lot of time in them, and it's paying dividends.

Other series slipped as they aged. Think of L.A. Law, Picket Fences and Northern Exposure. Yet the NYPD Blue characters continue to defy the TV odds and grow in interest because they're placed in identifiable and compelling situations.

The major plots tonight have unusual urgency. Detective Sipowicz worries about his infant son's health, and wife Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence) begs him to ease up.

Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) makes a huge life decision and receives a surprising response from his lover, Diane Russell (Kim Delaney). These scenes, romantic and perplexing, are certain to hook fans.

One detective suffers a crisis of doubt tonight when confronted by a gunman. The series stages that harrowing scene in slow motion.

Even the minor story lines add to the characters' appeal and hint at new possibilities. Hapless Greg Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) frets about his weight gain. Medavoy and James Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) also meet new women who make strong impressions in brief appearances.

Unlike many series, NYPD Blue remains true to its roots. In typically tough-minded fashion, the detectives investigate a slaying: A man has been shot three times and dumped in a trunk. (One pleasure of TV crime drama is that, unlike the crime on TV news, we get all the answers.)

There's no backing away from salty language, particularly when Medavoy lambastes detectives for making fun of his weight.

And it wouldn't be NYPD Blue without a hint of flesh in a bedroom scene. (That comes at the conclusion tonight.)

The dramatic series remain satisfying while so many made-for-TV movies have slid toward junk. The dramatic series are personal epics, in which changes in character or health portend significant developments.

Look at how Detective Frank Pembleton's stroke has reshaped Homicide or how Jeanie's HIV status has given new immediacy to ER. (And who would have thought that Dr. Kerry Weaver, an irritating stickler, would be the one to show Jeanie understanding?) Dramatic series hold the promise of surprise, growth, redemption.

Fewer crime stories would be a blessing on local newscasts, but prime time would be a far bleaker place without crime dramas. They have become rich staples in a season without many consistently entertaining series. It's a pleasure to have NYPD Blue back, walking its beat again.